Across almost all demographics, University of Utah students report lower rates of sexual or gender-based harassment, stalking and sexual violence when compared to national benchmarks.

The U’s fifth sexual assault and misconduct climate survey, administered during the Fall 2024 semester by Rankin & Associates, found that students are confident in their ability to step in as bystanders, their understanding of consent, but also shared higher rates of interpersonal violence. The climate survey is one of two main campus safety reports released this week. The other is the Clery Annual Security Report.

“Regularly distributing climate surveys helps us better understand student trends, patterns and needs,” said Rachel Aho, assistant vice president for strategic initiatives in the Office of Student Affairs. “This year’s results show that our efforts in preventative education are making a positive impact on campus culture—a kind of progress we’re encouraged to see and eager to keep building on.”

University leaders say it is important to note that the campus climate report is based on an anonymous, confidential survey, which is part of the U’s ongoing efforts to understand students’ experiences, strengthen prevention efforts and expand support services. Because it is an anonymous survey, the climate study highlights incidences, or rates, of sexual misconduct.

The Annual Security Report (ASR), on the other hand, highlights reports of crime on and around campus. To be counted in the ASR, the victim (a student, faculty or staff member) has to make the decision to come forward to a university official and ask for help. For this reason, campus safety experts point out that rates of sexual misconduct, as described in the campus climate study, are much different than reports of sexual misconduct highlighted in the ASR.

“In fact, most campuses across the country continue to see higher rates, or incidences, of sexual misconduct than reported instances,” said Chris Linder, senior advisor on interpersonal violence to U President Taylor Randall and former director of the McCluskey Center for Violence Prevention. “This is because victims of sexual misconduct—including sexual assault, stalking and intimate partner violence—frequently choose not to report their experiences to any university official. Therefore, when a victim chooses to report their experience with sexual misconduct, it means that they trust someone at the institution enough to share their experience with violence or harm.”

The survey gathered student perspectives on sexual harassment, stalking, intimate partner violence (IPV), sexual violence, intimate image abuse and climate-related indicators. The survey measures bystander confidence, knowledge of consent, and awareness of university policies and reporting options. It also documents incidents of misconduct since a student’s enrollment and within the past 12 months.

This survey does not differentiate whether or not reported incidents occurred on the U’s campus. And it cannot evaluate whether the responses to the survey would constitute sexual harassment or gender-based harassment under the U’s policy and/or Title IX.

University leaders say, no matter when or where students experienced an incident, the U’s Office of Equal Opportunity is here to provide guidance and support.

Making comparisons to previous surveys is complicated because the survey instrument used in the past, and designed by the Association of American Universities, has been discontinued. However, where possible, administrators made comparisons to previous years’ results when analyzing the 2024 survey data.

The survey was open to all U students, and 1,966 responded. Of these responses, about three-quarters of students identified as undergraduates. The rest identified as graduate students.

While responses cannot determine whether incidents constitute misconduct under Title IX or U policy, they provide critical insights that help shape the U’s prevention strategies and services.

“By understanding more about our students’ experiences, we can, in turn, strengthen our education, response and support efforts,” Aho said.

Key findings

• Students demonstrated high confidence in bystander intervention, with 93% saying they would walk a friend home if they had too much to drink.
• Most students showed a strong understanding of consent—96% agreed that consent must be given at each step in a sexual encounter.
• Compared to national benchmarks, students indicated higher than average rates of intimate partner violence—15% since enrollment, and 10% within the past year.
• In almost all categories, U students reported lower incidence rates when compared to national benchmarks when reporting about sexual or gender-based harassment, stalking and sexual violence. Exceptions to that include:
• • Twenty-three percent of graduate women identified incidents of stalking, compared to 21% nationally.
  • Fifty-five percent of non-binary graduate students shared incidences of sexual harassment, compared to 46% nationally. Fourteen percent of non-binary graduate students shared incidences of sexual violence compared to 11% nationally.
• About 14% of students said they experienced sexual or gender-based harassment (ranging from sexist or crude remarks to sexual touch or coercion) by a U employee in the past 12 months. Twenty-nine percent of these students reported the incidents to authorities. This is the highest rate of incident reporting found in the survey results.

The most common reasons students chose not to report misconduct included that the perpetrator was not affiliated with the U, they believed they could handle it themselves or they did not consider the incident serious enough.

Areas of progress

Expanded prevention education efforts introduced in 2022 appear to be making a positive difference. Students reflected high awareness of campus policies, improved understanding of consent and trust in peer networks as sources of support.

Areas for continued improvement

The survey showed intimate partner violence rates exceed national averages, and that some groups of graduate students, in particular, experienced higher rates of sexual harassment, stalking and IPV. Additionally, some students remain uncertain about where or how to report incidents.

Next steps

The U is committed to building on progress and addressing areas of concern. Action steps include:

• Expanding prevention and support programs related to intimate partner violence.
• Strengthening graduate student–specific resources.
• Launching a communications campaign to increase awareness of reporting and support pathways.
• Building upon peer network support initiatives.

The full report and additional resources are available here.

Additionally, the university is releasing its annual accounting of overall crime and fire statistics required by federal law under the Clery Act. The report gathers information about all crimes committed within the main campus boundary, in nearby neighborhoods and on satellite campuses. Incidents reported at University of Utah Health Hospitals & Clinics are also included in the final report. Read more here.